All In

I was thinking to myself, I did a lot of things for the first time last week. I wasn't even aware of how many there were until I thought about the ones that were difficult. There were a few other ones in there too. I’ve listed them in order from easiest to hardest:

1. I used a dutch oven for the first time. It was a Christmas gift and it was still in the box! This past Sunday we had a roast chicken on top of sliced sweet potatoes. It cooked while we were at church and VIOLA! A hassle free Sunday Dinner.

2. On that note, I also got a spiralizer for my Kitchen Aid Mixer for Christmas and attempted to spiralize a monster size sweet potato. I could not figure it out! I watched the video, read the instructions, even asked Siri. Needless to say, it sat on the counter all day and when my husband walked in he had it going in less than a minute and we had spiral fries with dinner. Figures. He’s the one that gave it to me anyways, so I decided it was ok to pass this one on to him. I do give up rather easily when it comes to that kind of stuff.

3. I went to a foot doctor for the first time. It was long overdue - I finally made an appointment and am glad I went.

4. I returned two dresses at one of my favorite stores and walked out empty handed. Victory! (Ok, my husband was with me but it still counts.)

5. I followed the rules for an entire week. What does that mean? I joined a nutrition challenge at the gym, #PHYXflex, I have been going to and I'm on a team. It's not about weight loss (although that would be nice.) It is about learning what we put in our mouths and what our bodies need to perform at their best. We get points for food journaling, going to class, water intake, steps, and a few other things. I joined and it has me in the biggest mind game I have ever played! Eat this? Not that? Are Milk Duds a carb? It’s requiring more thought and planning than I thought it would, but I am learning a ton! Maybe that’s why I followed this plan for an entire week for the first time, I was in this deep and didn't want to lose face and be “that” quitter and I do find it helpful.   I haven’t ever stuck to anything someone else is telling me to do for more than a few days, ever. Tis a character flaw I am working on.  Anyway, although I didn't do perfect I did do my best and tried to earn as many points for my team as possible.  Not to mention, I feel fantastic! This is going on for 3 more weeks. Yikes!

6. Then the biggie, I went to a fitness class.  You are probably thinking what’s the big deal about that?  Well, up until now I had been doing one on one with my daughter and a trainer but with this challenge going on I knew I had to bring it up a notch.  I used to go to classes at the Y all the time and it was no big deal but this felt intimidating for some reason.  This is a classic case of making a scenario way bigger than what it really is.  I mean what’s the threat here? The popular girls won’t talk to me? I’ll pass out? Gas pass? With all the fiber I’ve been downing thats a real possibility! Anyway, I’ve gone twice and love it! The people are so nice and helpful and its definitely a no judgement zone.  I’ll be going back for more and cannot understand what was freaking me out in the first place.

I would say last week really was pretty good if I look at it from the perspective of putting myself out there and doing some new things. We need to do that once in awhile. It can really give you a boost!

Do you notice a similarity between them at all? They all relate to the issue of health in some way. Ok, except for number 4, but honestly, me walking out of a store empty handed was good for my mental health! I'd put myself on restriction and would have been very angry with myself had I caved! The rest of them though, all health related. Spiral vegetables, healthy meals in my new dutch oven, nutrition and fitness accountability. All health related. Almost unintentionally, I have to admit.  

I was going to check in with the New Year's goals I had made for myself (remember those top ten) things to let go of to be happy? While not focusing on one in particular, I came to the conclusion earlier this year that in doing all these things I can truly be my best self. Here’s the rundown of the list.

Ten things to let go of to be happy:

Let go of toxic people in your life

Let go of regretting past mistakes

Let go of the need to be right

Let go of feeling sorry for yourself

Let go of negative self talk

Let go of the need to impress others

Let go of limiting beliefs

Let go of the need to please everyone

Let go of gossip and complaining

Let go of worrying about the future

One of my obsessions has always been diet and exercise. Escalating to unreasonable rules I applied to myself. The list of those are endless. This year was going to be different. No more all or nothing approach. I'm one of those people that if I eat a peppermint, I have ruined my diet and might as well eat a bag of Hershey Kisses, since I’ve already screwed up. Or I only biked 20 miles this morning, "What a loser you know you are capable of so much more. Don’t sit down -you don't have your 10,000 steps in yet!" You get the idea. I knew I had to let go of these unhealthy, not to mention, unrealistic parameters I keep setting up for myself. This was going to be the year I really worked on that. I had decided to let go of those lofty standards the first year in my fifties. I didn't want to live in that bondage anymore. 

Easier said than done. It's one thing to say it and another to do it. However, if I look at the list above I can see how I have subconsciously been working through it and how each one releases me from something. This blog would be really long if I went though all ten, so I am going to just pick out one for today. I might pick on a few more in the upcoming weeks. For me, the biggest one is the negative self talk.  

I saw something on Facebook kind of like this, and I added a few of my own lines:

One girl said to another, “You are such a loser, you’ll never succeed at anything. Nobody wants to listen to you. You just made a fool out of yourself. You’ll always be an alcoholic not to mention a sugar-aholic , who but you stuffs themselves with that much candy?!"

You might wonder who would say that to someone else? This girl was looking in a mirror. I cannot imagine saying such horrible things to anyone, but I say them to myself all the time. 

Last week was a doozy! After my last public speaking event at the Get Real Conference, I felt fantastic! I got a great response and felt so free and really just plain proud of me! That should be okay. It takes a lot of courage to tell your story no matter what it is. 

Then it happened. The devil pulled up his RV and parked it on my shoulder for a week. I mean, literally picture that! He spent the whole week poking the fire and whispering all those hurts and accusations in my ear. I let it take me down until I reached out for a lifeline in my prayer group and they lifted me back up. I could feel their prayers and it forced me back into “right thinking,” as they say in AA.  

When you let the devil whisper not so sweet nothings in your ear, it opens the door to a lot of lies and negativity. That's how he works. Keep it shut.

What do you need to let go of to find your best self this year? I still see many in that list I need to keep working on. Always a work in progress. 

Next week I am going to talk a little more about why the physical journey is right up there with the spiritual and the mental.  

I am challenging you to a first in the next week and I would love to hear from you what that is. It can be anything! What have you got to lose? Nothing. Because we are not lost, but we do tend to wander a little.

Peace,

Sherry